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“Labour speaks with one voice when we call on Tim Hortons and all employers across Ontario to respect the province’s labour laws and the long-overdue increase in the minimum wage. To have owners of such a profitable company punish their loyal workers for an increase in the minimum wage is reprehensible and all citizens should take notice.” — Larry Brown, NUPGE President
Ottawa (10 Jan 2018) — NUPGE President Larry Brown fully supports the call for immediate restoration of wages and benefits to all Tim Hortons workers as outlined in a letter sent from Chris Buckley, the President of the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), to Daniel Schwartz, the CEO of Tim Hortons. The letter can be downloaded here.
“Labour speaks with one voice when we call on Tim Hortons and all employers across Ontario to respect the province’s labour laws and the long-overdue increase in the minimum wage," said Brown. "To have owners of such a profitable company punish their loyal workers for an increase in the minimum wage is reprehensible and all citizens should take notice.”
Today, Wednesday, January 10, 2018, there are actions taking place outside Tim Hortons franchises across the province. Check the Ontario Federation of Labour on Twitter for locations.
Tim Hortons made billions in profits
The OFL along with the ‘Fight for $15 and Fairness’ campaign point out that Tim Hortons generated US$3 billion in revenue for its parent company Restaurant Brands International (RBI) in 2016. The CEO of RBI, Schwarz, made $6,173,993 in wages, stock options and other remuneration with an additional US$350 million in profits was given out to shareholders (link to OFL fact sheet on Tim Hortons here).
‘It is more than irony that Tim Hortons owners would take away their workers paid coffee breaks when a large amount of their business is built on workers coming to get a double-double on their coffee breaks said Brown. ‘Tim Hortons needs to respect their workers and reinstate all their benefits and wages, including paid coffee breaks.”
Ontario was due for minimum wage increase
The Ontario government passed the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 which mandated a general minimum wage increase from $11.60 per hour to $14.00 per hour effective January 1, 2018 and $15 per hour effective January 1, 2019. The minimum wage had been frozen for almost a decade between 1995 and 2004 and again frozen from 2011 to 2014.
Workers across the country deserve to have a living wage, a wage that can allow them to live in dignity. NUPGE supports the OFL and the Fight for $15 and Fairness campaign.